OverviewSalamence has one big selling point in the Ubers metagame: pairing it with Rayquaza forms an effective offensive partnership that is almost impossible to counter! This strategy is not without its drawbacks though - since Salamence and Rayquaza have the same typing, this means that your team will have at least two Rock-, Ice- and Dragon-type weaknesses. Due to this fact, Salamence can not just be thrown in any team, it should be paired with Rayquaza and have a team centered around covering their drawbacks. Even though Salamence is mostly outclassed by Rayquaza, do not let this fool you into thinking that it is not a threat. Salamence is still very capable of tearing its opponents to shreds in the Ubers metagame, whether its with its Dragon Dance set or its mixed set. Overall, Salamence is an unorthodox yet deadly Pokémon in Ubers.
As a Dragon Dancer, Salamence is normally outclassed by Rayquaza. However, when used alongside Rayquaza, Dragon Dance Salamence can be a powerful asset in the Uber metagame. Dragon Dance Salamence's main advantage over Garchomp as a Rayquaza partner lies in the Speed boost that Dragon Dance gives it. Unlike Garchomp, Salamence will outspeed and OHKO Pokémon such as Mewtwo, Darkrai, and Choice Scarf Kyogre after one turn of set-up. Although Salamence may not be as powerful as Rayquaza, Outrage will still do an insane amount of damage to any Pokémon who doesn't resist it. After one Dragon Dance, Salamence with Life Orb will always OHKO Shaymin-S, Darkrai, offensive Mewtwo and max HP Kyogre with Outrage. A +1 Outrage will also deal 79.13% - 93.5% to 112 HP Groudon, and 54.95% - 64.85% to an Impish Groudon with max HP and max Defense. Even the standard max HP / 64 Defense Timid Lugia, which normally gives Salamence trouble, suffers 71.4% - 84.4% from a boosted Outrage (approximately a 20% chance to KO after Stealth Rock damage and Leftovers recovery)! Earthquake's main purpose is to hit grounded Steel-types, such as Dialga and Metagross, harder than Outrage would. A boosted Earthquake always OHKO max HP Metagross and min HP Dialga, after Stealth Rock damage; however, a max HP Dialga will be OHKOed by a +1 Earthquake around 92% of the time after it takes Stealth Rock damage. The final moveslot is a choice between Fire Blast and Flamethrower. Even with a Special Attack reducing nature, Fire Blast will deal 88.02% - 104.19% to a specially defensive Skarmory in the sun. If you only wish to OHKO Scizor and Forretress in the sun (or 2HKO them in the rain), then Flamethrower is a fine choice for its perfect accuracy. Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
Unlike the last set, this set puts Salamence in the role of helping Rayquaza sweep. Salamence may seem outclassed as a mixed attacking partner for Rayquaza when compared to more powerful wall breakers, such as Dialga and Palkia, but Salamence sports two key advantages over them. First, since Dialga and Palkia's most common sets are either pure special attackers or Choiced sets, Pokemon such as Wobbuffet and Blissey - who give Rayquaza no problems - may switch in. On the other hand, Salamence is treated similarly to Rayquaza, which allows it to badly damage Rayquaza's counters. Unlike Garchomp, Salamence is capable of harming Rayquaza's checks without a turn of set up. The other big selling point of mixed Salamence as a Rayquaza partner is Dragon Dance, which can allow Salamence to sweep a weakened team later in the match. While Salamence's base 110 Special Attack may seem meager when compared to the more powerful Dragon-types of Ubers, Draco Meteor still does a huge amount of damage to any Pokémon who doesn't resist it (with the exception of Blissey). For example, max HP Groudon (a common Salamence switch-in) will take 71.29% - 84.16% from Draco Meteor, allowing Rayquaza to possibly sweep due to Groudon either being 2HKOed by Salamence, or being put into the KO range of Rayquaza's attacks. Draco Meteor will also OHKO several common Choice Scarfed switch-ins that expect Salamence to use Dragon Dance, such as Darkrai, Garchomp and Shaymin-S (around 87% of the time without Stealth Rock). Finally, Draco Meteor will have around a 53% chance to OHKO 4 HP Mewtwo after it takes Stealth Rock damage. Fire Blast is Salamence's main move against the Steel-types that resist Draco Meteor - in the rain, only the most specially defensive Scizor will survive Fire Blast while Forretress will take 83.62% - 99.44%. In the sunny weather, Fire Blast will OHKO Scizor, Forretress, Metagross, Skarmory, and even 2HKO Groudon! Outrage is Salamence's physical move of choice, as it will still do a large amount of damage despite the minimal Attack investment. Outrage is Salamence's best move against Blissey, dealing 66.41% - 78.22%. Outrage is also important for its ability to KO many important Pokémon after they take damage from Draco Meteor. For example, the standard Bold Max HP Lugia with 52 Defense EVs is KOed by a combination of Draco Meteor and Outrage around 98% of the time after factoring in Stealth Rock damage and Leftovers recovery. Additionally, Ho-Oh, maximum HP Kyogre, minimum Special Defense Dialga and Calm Wobbuffet (after Stealth Rock damage) are KOed by Outrage after switching into Draco Meteor. Be warned though, Draco Meteor plus Outrage will only have around a 58% chance and 57% chance to KO specially defensive Dialga and Bold Lugia with maximum HP and maximum Defense respectively after Stealth Rock. Team Options & Additional Comments >>>Salamence's Quirks in UbersWhile Salamence's playstyle is very similar to Rayquaza's, it does have a few differences that both help and hinder it. As mentioned before, Salamence is slightly faster than Rayquaza, sitting at base 100 Speed as opposed to base 95. This affects how Salamence deals with 3 Pokémon. First, it allows Salamence to outspeed Rayquaza. Secondly, a +Speed Salamence will always outspeed Bold Lugia, meaning that Salamence can potentially pick off a weakened Lugia more easily than Rayquaza (who has to rely on the weaker ExtremeSpeed). The third and biggest advantage of Salamence's base 100 Speed is its ability to Speed tie with Palkia. While a 50% chance to destroy Palkia might not seem like much, many teams rely on Choice Scarf Palkia to defeat Salamence, meaning that it can potentially annihilate whole teams just because of a flip of a coin! One of the biggest quirks that sets Salamence apart from Rayquaza is its ability: Intimidate. While the Ubers metagame is usually based around special attacks, Intimidate is notable for being able to act as an emergency stop to several physical sweepers if used correctly. Note that most of the time, using Intimidate to stop sweepers will result in Salamence being severely damaged or KOed. Despite this setback, using Intimidate like this can change the outcome of the match. A good example of Intimidate's usefulness is against Lucario and Jolly Swords Dance Rayquaza. After a Swords Dance and Intimidate, Adamant Lucario will never be able to KO Salamence with ExtremeSpeed after Stealth Rock (dealing 60.42% - 71.3%, so be warned, Salamence will be KOed by Life Orb recoil after Stealth Rock), while Salamence can OHKO Lucario with Fire Blast or Earthquake. After a Swords Dance and Intimidate, Jolly Rayquaza will have a 46.15% chance to OHKO Salamence after Stealth Rock damage, giving Salamence a small chance to defeat it in exchange for getting KOed the next turn by Life Orb recoil. However, there is a dark side to Intimidate. Since Salamence doesn't have Air Lock, the weather can affect Salamence in negative ways. The most common example is the rain. Since the rain will lower the power of Salamence's Fire-type attacks, it will have a harder time dealing with Skarmory and Bronzong. Salamence is also unable to set up on RestTalk Kyogre with Calm Mind due to the rain. Generally, Salamence will prefer sunny weather to rainy weather. Although Salamence dislikes sandstorms, it does provide one significant benefit: with the sandstorm damage factored in, Timid Lugia will be KOed by a +1 Life Orb boosted Outrage around 74% of the time after Stealth Rock damage. Something to note about Salamence is that, when the opponent sees it, they will usually assume that you are carrying Rayquaza as well. Because of this, it's often best to keep Salamence hidden until Rayquaza has done a significant amount of damage to the opponent's team. This isn't usually possible for mixed Salamence, thus it is often best to take advantage of your opponent's knowledge. For example, try to predict when they predict a Rayquaza switch-in, and instead switch in a Pokémon to take advantage of their reaction to Rayquaza. Another good example is to carry a Pokémon who can set up on Rock- and/or Dragon-type attacks. This is because often times, weakened Groudon will predict your Wobbuffet to be attempting to set up Rayquaza, and thus you may Encore Stone Edge or Dragon Claw instead of Earthquake. Team OptionsOne particular Pokémon who should be on almost all Salamence + Rayquaza teams is Wobbuffet. Wobbuffet is able to aid both of their set ups via the use of Encore and will also eliminate most Choice Scarf users that can be a problem. Although a niche Pokémon in the Ubers metagame, Magnezone can be helpful to Salamence and Rayquaza by eliminating the Steel-types that can switch into their Dragon-type attacks. Magnezone will also lure in Fire-, Ground- and Fighting-type attacks for Salamence and Rayquaza to switch into. Groudon is useful for its ability to cause eternal sunshine, which is the more favorable weather for Salamence due to its boost to Fire Blast's power. Be warned, however, as this will have the side effect of making half your team weak to Ice-type attacks! When using Salamence and Rayquaza together, Stealth Rock is almost necessary. This is because both Salamence and Rayquaza rely on Stealth Rock to gain several KOs, depending on the set. The pair is also weak to Stealth Rock, so it may prove useful to keep it off the field. Forretress stands out as an excellent choice here. Steel-types already make a great partner to Salamence and Rayquaza, and Forretress can use Rapid Spin to keep Stealth Rock off the field. Another strategy is to keep Stealth Rock from ever being used in the first place. Choice Scarf Shaymin-S is an option here, however you again leave yourself vulnerable with 4x Ice weaknesses on half of your team. Choice Scarf Darkrai can put Deoxys-S and Deoxys-A to sleep before they set up Stealth Rock. Yet take care, as many Dialga and Groudon leads will carry a Chesto Berry to ensure that they either lay down Stealth Rock or paralyze Darkrai. Deoxys-S is the fastest user of Taunt in the game and thus can help out Salamence and Rayquaza by stopping the Stealth Rock attempts of slower leads. Deoxys-S is also a good user of Stealth Rock and can viably use Spikes if a Ghost-type is present on your team, although it should be noted that the best offensive spinblocker, Giratina-O, shares weaknesses with Salamence and Rayquaza. There are several Pokémon who, while not being able to check Salamence and Rayquaza, will pose a threat to your team if you don't get the chance to set up. The biggest issue by far is Mewtwo. Mewtwo will outspeed and OHKO both Rayquaza and Salamence with Ice Beam if you have not attained a Dragon Dance. Mewtwo will become even more of an issue if you are using Wobbuffet, because Mewtwo can set up on it with Taunt and Calm Mind. Latias, Latios and Garchomp that lack Choice Scarf are going to be problems as well, because they all outspeed Salamence and Rayquaza, and will OHKO both with their STAB Dragon-type attacks. Life Orb Gengar will also outspeed Salamence and Rayquaza, and OHKO both with Icy Wind. While mixed Palkia must risk a Speed tie against Salamence, it will cause problems if it KOs Salamence. Because of these problems, Scizor makes a great teammate for both Salamence and Rayquaza. Scizor will be able to switch into Mewtwo's Ice Beams, Latias and Latios' Dragon-type attacks, and Gengar's Icy Wind. Scizor can then deal a large amount of damage to Mewtwo, Latias, and Latios with Pursuit as they flee, and crush Gengar with Bullet Punch. However, be wary of Fire-type attacks. Max HP Metagross can be a good alternative to Scizor because it is able to survive most Fire-type attacks in the rain. Choice Scarf Metagross can also be used to switch into Garchomp's Outrage and OHKO it with Ice Punch. A Careful Choice Band Tyranitar is particularly notable for being one of the most reliable users of Pursuit to beat Latias and Latios with, as only Grass Knot from Latios is guaranteed to 2HKO Tyranitar. However, the sandstorm can be a nuisance to Salamence, so carrying Kyogre and/or Groudon is recommended. Kyogre will usually be able to defeat Mewtwo (as long as it lacks Thunder or Grass Knot) and Gengar and has the option to use Thunder Wave to paralyze Latias, Latios and Palkia switch-ins. Although it's risky to use another Pokémon weak to Dragon- and Ice-type attacks, Latias and Latios are very good at revenge killing Palkia and Garchomp that lack Choice Scarf. In Ubers, there are two main walls that give both of these Salamence sets problems: Timid Lugia and Cresselia. Timid Lugia will survive any of Mixed Salamence's assaults and then OHKO with Ice Beam. Timid Lugia will also defeat Dragon Dance Salamence as long as it is at near full health (taking 71.4% - 84.4% from a +1 Outrage, around a 79.5% chance of surviving after Stealth Rock damage and Leftovers recovery). Cresselia is able to survive any sort of attack from Salamence and then OHKO it with Ice Beam after Stealth Rock damage. Wobbuffet is a great partner for Salamence and Rayquaza in this case. Wobbuffet is able to use Encore to make both Lugia and Cresselia set-up bait for your other sweepers. If your Wobbuffet is carrying Tickle, it can be paired with a Pursuit user such as Scizor to eliminate Lugia and Cresselia from the battlefield. Scizor itself can switch into Cresselia with ease and then threaten to do a huge amount of damage to it with U-turn. Mewtwo is capable of using Taunt and Calm Mind to set up on both Lugia and Cresselia. In a similar manner, Darkrai can use Dark Void to put Lugia and Cresselia to sleep and threaten a sweep with Nasty Plot. Kyogre has no problems switching into Lugia and Cresselia's Ice Beams, and can threaten to smash them with its powerful, rain-boosted STAB Water-type attacks. Salamence and Rayquaza will have problems with 3 priority users. The most common problem is Scizor. While Scizor is unable to OHKO either Salamence or Rayquaza, it's notable for its ability to pick both off when they are weakened. Scizor's Choice Banded Bullet Punch will always 2HKO both Salamence and Rayquaza after Stealth Rock damage, and Scizor can use its Dragon-type resistance to switch in on Outrage. Although uncommon, both Weavile and Mamoswine have the potential to be huge problems for Salamence and Rayquaza due to their STAB Ice Shard. Mewtwo makes a superb Scizor lure, as it can use Flamethrower and Fire Blast and also has the option of using Aura Sphere to revenge kill Mamoswine and Weavile. Dialga is notable for having a resistance to Bullet Punch and a neutrality to Ice Shard, and can fry both Scizor and Mamoswine with Fire Blast. Dialga also has the option of equipping a Choice Scarf to revenge kill Weavile. In a similar manner, Kyogre resists both Ice Shard and Bullet Punch. Kyogre can crush Scizor and Mamoswine with its insanely powerful Surfs and like Dialga, can equip a Choice Scarf to revenge kill Weavile. A Scizor of your own is capable of switching into Weavile and Mamoswine's Ice Shard and can smash them with Bullet Punch. Like Scizor, a Choice Scarf Jirachi can easily switch into Ice Shard and ram Weavile and Mamoswine with Iron Head. Since Salamence and Rayquaza share each other's weaknesses, this means that your team will at least have two weaknesses to Rock-, Dragon-, and Ice-type attacks. This makes it almost required to have a Steel-type partner. Bronzong, Scizor, and Forretress are all great choices for this role. They resist Ice- and Dragon-type attacks (Bronzong in particular also resists Rock-type attacks), while Salamence and Rayquaza resist the Fire-type attacks aimed at them. Jirachi and Metagross are also superb teammates, as they resist all of Salamence and Rayquaza's weaknesses, and in return, Salamence and Rayquaza can switch into Ground- and Fire-type attacks. While Kyogre doesn't resist Dragon-type attacks, it does sport a useful Ice-type resistance and can lure in Grass-type attacks for Salamence or Rayquaza to switch into. Groudon provides a Rock-type resistance, and like Kyogre, can lure in Grass-type attacks for Salamence or Rayquaza to switch into. Dialga provides a Rock-type resistance, and it can lure in Fighting- and Ground-type attacks for Salamence or Rayquaza to switch into. Optional ChangesSalamence has access to one move that sets it apart from Rayquaza: Roost. Roost can be used on a mixed Salamence set to restore its health on Pokémon it may force out, or on Pokémon who do little harm to it (such as Forretress without Explosion or Skarmory). This can be especially useful against stall teams, who sometimes rely on Stealth Rock damage to wear down Salamence. There are two main issues with Roost though. First of all, Roost can be hard to find time to use, as Salamence must often predict a switch to use it. Secondly, Roost does not pair well with Outrage. When Salamence uses Outrage, it will often be revenge killed before it can find time to use Roost. It's possible to use Brick Break over Outrage for this purpose (to 2HKO Blissey), but this leaves Salamence walled by Ho-Oh. Salamence has several alternative attacks at its disposal. Stone Edge can be a good option on Dragon Dance Salamence, as a +1 Stone Edge OHKOes Timid Lugia around 87% of the time after it takes Stealth Rock damage and Leftovers recovery. Dragon Claw can be used on the Dragon Dance set to OHKO most Dragon-types without being force to lock Salamence into Outrage. If using Dragon Claw over Fire Blast or Flamethrower, Magnezone or Magneton support is recommended for eliminating most Steel-types. In a similar manner, Crunch can be used to OHKO Mewtwo after a Dragon Dance. Hydro Pump can be used on mixed Salamence to 2HKO Skarmory, Forretress, Scizor and Metagross in the rain if you must have Kyogre on your team. Hydro Pump will also OHKO Heatran in the rain. If your team has problems with stall, Dragon Fang can be a reasonable option on mixed Salamence, though it will lose out on a few KOs. Both Yache Berry and Haban Berry are reasonable items to use on Salamence, but Rayquaza is often better off using them, as Salamence prefers the added power of Life Orb. CountersSalamence's counters are extremely similar to Rayquaza's. In other words, there aren't actually many Salamence counters at all! Salamence only has two hard counters in Ubers. Cresselia is able to survive any of Salamence's attacks, and can then OHKO Salamence with Ice Beam after Stealth Rock. Timid Lugia works in a similar fashion, but it must avoid Stone Edge after a boost. Bold Lugia can defeat Dragon Dance Salamence, but it has a chance of being defeated by mixed Salamence after it takes Stealth Rock damage. Generally, the best way to deal with Salamence is to force it to use Outrage, and then switch to a Steel-type Pokémon. Scizor is one of the best choices for this, as it can 2HKO Salamence with a Choice Band boosted Bullet Punch. Metagross and Jirachi are also reasonable choices due to Ice Punch. Skarmory is particularly notable because it will usually wall Salamence in the rainy weather. Although not a Steel-type, defensive Groudon is notable for its ability to survive a +1 Outrage from Salamence. Groudon can then choose to hit it with Stone Edge or cripple it with Thunder Wave. Like Rayquaza, it's often easier to revenge kill Salamence than try and counter it. Choice Scarf Garchomp is a particularly good choice, as it outspeeds Salamence even after it uses a Dragon Dance and will OHKO Salamence with Outrage. In a similar manner, Choice Scarf users with a base Speed of over 100 and an Ice-type attack are good revenge killers. Good examples of this are Mewtwo, Darkrai, Shaymin-S and Gengar. Weavile and Mamoswine are notable for their ability to revenge kill Salamence without the use of Choice Scarf, thanks to their STAB Ice Shard. |
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